During the pandemic, numerous industries had to either shut down or cut down on lines of business, especially the retail, food and travel industries. Companies needed a partner that would help alleviate their inventory woes, while media agencies searched for ads to fill up their media inventory.
Luckily, Net Trade is here to help alleviate those advertising woes and help make your excess inventory dilemmas as painless as possible. How? Media Barter.
Media Barter is when a company exchanges diminished or unwanted inventory for advertising or “media trade credits” that can be used to help offset the total cost of a planned media spend, with no monetary exchange involved. This reduces the chances of companies needing a credit line to help unload their inventory and extend companies’ overall ad budget.
In the midst of challenging economic situations, media barter can help companies quickly and efficiently sell their surplus assets, while maintaining the maximum value of those assets, protecting their brand distribution and in-line product.
Incorporating a media barter strategy into your company’s overall media planning process allows advertisers to shift their focus and explore new promotional mediums and increase their overall advertising budgets.
For example, Net Trade recently helped live entertainment company Family Entertainment Holdings move difficult inventory as part of a media barter exchange. The live entertainment company was stuck with truck loads of holiday-themed, branded promotional merchandise left over from a holiday-themed tour. However, the merchandise could not be used the following year due to the batteries being close to expiration.
Family Entertainment Holdings traded in their surplus merchandise at full value to Net Trade, in exchange for media trade credits. Net Trade collected all the excess inventory from multiple locations and moved it to their warehouse facility, while Family Entertainment Holdings used the media trade credits to help pay for radio, TV and digital ads that promoted future outdoor shows. The media trade credits also helped partially pay for temporary labor and other large recurring business expenses.
Incorporating media barter as an option for ad spend can help companies maximize their marketing efforts without hindering their current ad budget. Liquidating surplus assets eliminates the possibility of losing value on unsold inventory, allowing your company to focus on maintaining and expanding the frequency of your advertising efforts.
Media Barter can be quite an undertaking for a company to handle directly on its own. Companies should consider working with external corporate trade firms. Together, both parties can develop a strategy based on the company’s marketing and business objectives to find the best solution for clearing out inventory and securing media placements. Keep in mind, both parties should outline their needs and requirements prior to the exchange to ensure an efficient strategy is in place to ensure all parties involved get what they want.
Is your company struggling with inventory challenges that are hindering your bottom line? Reach out to us today and see how Net Trade can turn your inventory into advertising dollars!